Excerpts from an article in The New American for 13 June 2005 about Congressman Cannon:

Cannon described as “...a congressional point man for the Bush administration’s illegal immigration amnesty scheme,...”

“By way of contrast (with Colorado Congressman Tancredo), Rep. Cannon’s relationship with the “Reconquista Lobby” - foundation funded, open borders groups like the Mexican - American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) and La Raza - is close kindred to treason. In March 2003, Cannon hellped create the U.S. - Mexico Political Caucus. In a June 6, 2002 speech to a gathering of MALDEF, where he received the group’s “Excellence in Leadership” award, Cannon declared: “We love immigration in Utah....And we don’t oftentimes make the distinction between legal and illegal.”

“It apparently hasn’t occurred to Cannon that all congressmen (himself included) swore an oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution, not the platform of the GOP, the policies of the president, or the whims of foreign lobbies like MALDEF. Agitating on behalf of abolilshing our national borders may be “consistent with the Republican Party” as led by George Bush, but it’s hardly consistent with that solemn oath of office.”

In my opinion, the voters in Utah have gotten what they deserve for choosing Cannon over Throckmorton while walking in darkness at noonday. And we here in Arizona have done little better. But in Utah there is a much higher percentage of people who are obligated to “befriend” the US Constitution by seeking and supporting candidates who also “befriend” the Constitution.

A study of http://www.thenewamerican.com/fo.../index.htm will show a recent record of Cannon’s unconstitutional voting record in the House of Representatives. To give you an idea of what a phoney he is, Cannon has joined and organization established in Congressman Ron Paul called The Liberty Committee (thelibertycommittee.org) which is supposed to organize support for the US Constitution in Congress, and yet he consistently proposes and supports unconstitutional legislation. I consider Cannon as I do Senator Hatch: phoney as a $3 bill.

I live in Arizona, but care very much about the kind of legislators Utah sends to Congress. Among other things, it is a barometer of Utah voters' awareness of our "awful situation". Right now it seems U of U and BYU sports are much more important than what's happening in Congress and in the Utah government. Does Cannon have any challengers?

He’s a congressman from Utah. A Republican, sort of, five terms, the president’s “point man on immigration” in the House.

Let’s flush him.

Let’s show the Republican Party, the Congress and the president that we mean business. They’ve screwed with us. Now let’s screw with them.

Here’s the background.

Chris Cannon is the brother of the Utah state Republican chairman. They’re a millionaire family. And for 10 years Chris Cannon has represented the Third District of Utah.

It is one of the most conservative areas in the United States. It is also an area very hard hit by illegal immigration. Communities that were once some of the safest in the nation now deal with urban gangs comprised almost entirely of illegal aliens.

And Chris Cannon has carried the president’s immigration water in the House of Representatives.

Which means he’s soft on illegals.

In fact, Chris Cannon is the author of the Student Adjustment Act, which would not only give illegals amnesty, it would also make them eligible for in-state college tuition and it would let them pay that discounted tuition with federal grants.

That doesn’t seem very smart.

But it’s what Chris Cannon proposed.

And this is a season of accountability.

As conservatives search for ways to bring the Republican Party to heel, Chris Cannon is a target of opportunity. We’ll only get their attention if we take down one of their own, and Chris Cannon is the most likely target.

See, he’s got a primary.

On June 27, Chris Cannon will be side-by-side on the Republican ballot with a newcomer named John Jacob. Last Saturday, at the GOP’s Utah nominating convention, delegates preferred the challenger they don’t know to the congressman they know too well. On the second ballot, John Jacob had 52 percent of the vote and Chris Cannon had 48.

That means there’ll be a primary.

And that primary has to be first blood in the battle to humble the Republican establishment.

Given the district’s heavy Republican enrollment advantage, the winner of the primary will be the winner of the general election. That means that kicking Chris Cannon out won’t put Nancy Pelosi in charge of the House, it won’t endanger anything of importance to Utah, it won’t hurt the country.

But it will let the Republican deep thinkers start their summer with a bloody nose. It will show in capital letters that the Republican mismanagement of Washington – particularly the abandonment of conservative principles and the failure to protect the country from illegal immigration – is something rank-and-file Republicans will not tolerate.

Chris Cannon’s opponent – John Jacob – is an earnest and honest man. Conventional wisdom is that Chris Cannon – with all that Washington special-interest money – will tear him apart. But then, common wisdom is that nobody can beat a five-term incumbent in a convention of the party faithful.

But Chris Cannon’s tenure has been such that, after a decade, he had done nothing to earn the loyalty or support of the most ardent Republicans. Instead of easily turning away a no-name challenger, Chris Cannon was defeated by him.

And that can happen again.

It must happen again.

Chris Cannon must be sacrificed on the altar of political reform. Patriotic, principle-based, Constitution-believing Republicans have to fire him. We must show the Republican establishment that the people own the party and expect it to keep its promises.

So how do we do it?

Republicans inside the Third District of Utah must organize themselves in support of John Jacob. They must endorse his campaign and make sure they and their friends to vote for him.

Patriots from outside the Third District of Utah – from all across the country – must financially support the John Jacob campaign. Those who are close enough to go to the district and volunteer in the John Jacob campaign must do so.

To send a message to the president.

To send a message to the Congress.

To send a message to the party.

That it’s time for Republicans to be Republicans. That it’s time for politicians to keep their word. That it’s time for the people to run the party.

And it’s time for those who fail to serve and defend our country to be thrown out of office.

Starting with Congressman Chris Cannon.

He is the author of the illegal-coddling Student Adjustment Act. He is George W. Bush’s point man on immigration in the House. And that’s reason enough for him to go.

(***I hope all of you Utah folks will get out and help John Jacob in his campaign effort. Even just distributing copies of this article by Bob Lonsberry door to door will sprread the word and maybe make a diffference.)

So that you know what Cannon has been doing with our Constitution and freedoms I have posted his voting record from 2005:

Categorized by good votes and bad or conservative and non-conservative... By non-conservative I mean a vote that was not in support of constitutional principles of limited government, fiscal responsibility, national sovereignty, and traditional foreign policy of avoiding foreign entanglements.

-14 supported CAFTA - Like NAFTA, which has already begun imposing its trade rulings on America, CAFTA and the FTAA would not be genuine free trade arrangements; they would instead manage trade
and would gradually exercise more powers on the road to a supranational government modeled after the European Union.

-18 supported Head Start Funding. the bill would further federalize the educational system, and federal aid to education is unconstitutional.

-19 rejceted U.S. Treasury Borrowing- bill was to "eliminate the
ability of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Bank Board to borrow from the Treasury." This bill would seek to end a massive unconstitutional and immoral transfer of income from working Americans to government-sponsored enterprises.

Good, constitutional, etc.

+1 support of Permanent Repeal of Estate Tax.

+2 rejected Fuel Efficiency Regulations.

+3 supported Alaskan Drilling.

+6 rejected Embryonic Stem-cell Research.

+8 supported UN Dues Decrease. a step toward defunding it and getting the U.S. out.

+10 supported - prohibiting the use of funds in the bill to create or implement any universal mental health screening program.

+17 rejected Hate Crimes bill. this legislation would further federalize the criminal code as well as punish not only criminal acts but the thoughts behind them.

+20 supported Online Freedom of Speech. protection of free speech.

(the numbers are just representative of the 20 votes listed here from 2005.)

As you can see he is only 40% conservative, which means that the majority of his votes were in favor of a more unconstitutional, socialistic America.

I was really hoping that Utah would take the lead in getting shod of Chris Cannon, who I consider a traitor to the US Constitution, and replacing him with someone who will never vote for legislation unless the proposed measure is expressly authorized by the Constitution. Hopefully that man is Jim Noorlander and he will get the support of Utah voters. A 32306 - 25589 is not that much, especially which one considers the %age of elligible voters who actually voted. It does show considerable dissatisfaction with Cannon, unless many people voted for Jacob thinking he would give the Democratic candidate less of a challenge in November. I still hope for Cannon's eviction from office.

lundbaek wrote:I live in Arizona, but care very much about the kind of legislators Utah sends to Congress. Among other things, it is a barometer of Utah voters' awareness of our "awful situation". Right now it seems U of U and BYU sports are much more important than what's happening in Congress and in the Utah government. Does Cannon have any challengers?

Bread and Circus

And that's coming from a BIG Utes fan

Oh and by the way with the particular DIEBOLD machines that have been installed, challengers are irrelevant. Here's a link to a documentary about the exact machines that our Lt. Governor recently certified by saying, in effect, that the security flaws are only a problem if you don't trust the County elections people (or all of the thousands of people with access to them, I would add).

“Four years ago, U.S. Rep. Chris Cannon told the audience at a Mexican-American Legal Defense and Educational Fund dinner: ‘We love immigrants in Utah. We don’t make distinctions between legal and illegal.’ . . . A prominent champion of immigrant rights in Washington, Cannon says he hasn’t changed his position. Instead, he has repackaged it in reaction to a nationwide backlash against illegal immigration. . . . Cannon, who has unsuccessfully sponsored congressional bills that would legalize farmworkers, provide in-state college tuition to undocumented immigrant students and legalize those who excel in their studies, is a perennial target of anti-immigration forces.”

- Los Angeles Time, 4/30/06

AS GOES CANNON, SO GOES IMMIGRATION ISSUE

“Late next month, just as the conference committee that will decide the fate of an immigration bill gets down to business, a GOP primary for a Utah House seat in the country’s most conservative congressional district may set the boundaries for any legislation that has a chance of passing both the House and Senate.

“Illegal immigration is the key issue in the race, and should five-term incumbent Rep. Chris Cannon of Provo lose to a restrictionist challenger, look for House Republicans to dig in their heels and block any bill that creates a path to citizenship for illegal aliens. ‘House Republicans are already spooked about immigration, and should one of our own lose on the issue, you will see panic break out,’ one GOP congressman told me.

“…Right now, things don’t look good for the Utah Republican. His standing among party activists has clearly been weakened by the images of recent mass demonstrations of illegal aliens. In the final round of voting at the GOP state convention two weeks ago, Mr. Cannon was outpolled, 52% to 48%, by political newcomer John Jacob. Because no one won the necessary 60% of the convention vote to avoid a primary, the two will go head to head at the ballot box June 27.”

WASHINGTON — Rep. Chris Cannon's cooperation with his lobbyist brother Joe Cannon has earned him attention on a list of "corrupt" members of Congress.

The Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington named Cannon, a Republican who represents Utah's 3rd Congressional District, as one of five "members to watch" in its second annual report ranking the 20 "most corrupt" members of Congress.

The group, known as CREW, gave Cannon a "dishonorable mention" because of his "abuse of his position to benefit his brother Joseph Cannon, a registered lobbyist."

Chris Cannon has maintained that he treats his brother as he would any other lobbyist.

Joe Cannon is also the chairman of the Utah Republican Party and on the board of directors of the Deseret Morning News.

Joe Cannon told the newspaper Wednesday afternoon that in light of the recent criticisms "I've decided not to lobby my brother anymore. I won't take clients to see him. If they want to talk to him, I'm just telling them to go call him themselves."

According to the CREW report, Joe Cannon has repeatedly sought his brother's assistance on behalf of clients. "Rep. Cannon has a financial interest in his brother's lobbying success because Joseph Cannon owes him more than $250,000 from his unsuccessful 1992 campaign for the U.S. Senate," it said.

Joe Cannon said he only talked to his brother about two issues — issues that any other lobbyist handling those issues would have talked to Rep. Cannon about anyway.

The report said Rep. Cannon, along with three other lawmakers, pushed for a congressional hearing on a proposed contract affecting Internet companies. Joe Cannon is a lobbyist for Network Solutions Inc., which sells Web addresses and opposes a price increase it would pay to another company under the pending agreement. Rep. Cannon signed a letter asking for a congressional hearing on the deal.

Charles Isom, Chris Cannon's spokesman, said the congressman has a long history on Internet issues, and it was not like his brother came to him asking for support on an issue he knew nothing about.

"This is something he is very familiar with, and had anyone come to him with this, he would have signed it," Isom said.

Isom said any notion that Joe Cannon has "undue influence" on the congressman "is wrong."

No federal laws prohibit relatives from lobbying lawmakers, but CREW points to rules that prohibit House members from "taking any official actions for the prospect of personal gain for themselves or anyone else."

"Rep. Cannon's intervention into an Internet-contract business dispute on behalf of his brother's client clearly does not reflect creditably on the House," according to the CREW report.

CREW claims that by helping his brother, Chris Cannon "is improving his own financial status as well," because of the debt owed from the 1992 campaign.

Isom said the campaign debt has been there for awhile, and claiming that the congressman is helping his brother in order to get this debt repaid is "stretching it a little."
Isom also cited a 2005 editorial from The Hill, a newspaper that covers Congress, criticizing CREW for not being clear as to who is running the organization and contending that much of the criticism targets Republicans.

In the report released Wednesday, CREW also mentioned Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, R-Calif., who is now serving an eight-year jail term for bribery. Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, who has agreed to plead guilty to federal corruption charges, appeared in last year's report.

The list named Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont.; Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn.; and Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., as the most corrupt in the Senate. The list included 17 House members, including Rep. William Jefferson, D-La., who had $90,000 cash in his freezer when FBI agents searched his home.

"CREW created this exhaustive go-to guide on corruption in Congress to expose and hold accountable those members of Congress who believe they are above the law," Melanie Sloan, executive director of CREW, said Wednesday. "The officials named in this report have chosen to enrich themselves and their families and friends by abusing the power of their office, rather than work for the public good. Their collective corruption affects all Americans."

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